THE 

CEMENT-MATERIALS 

OF 

SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


BY 

JOHN C. BRANNER, 

Stanford University, California. 


A Paper read before the American Institute of Mining 
Engineers, at the Chicago Meeting, 

February, 1897 . 


AUTHOR’S EDITION. 
1 89 7 . 




































X 


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[TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERS.j 


The Cement-Materials of Southwest Arkansas. 

BY JOHN C. BRANNER, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA. 

(Chicago Meeting, February, 1897.) 


Inquiries are frequently made concerning the chalk- and 
clay-beds of Arkansas, usually with a view to the manufacture 
of Portland cement. The chalk-deposits were first described 
by Professor P. T. Hill in the annual report of the Geological 
Survey of Arkansas for 1888, vol. ii., pp. 153-162. Since the 
publication of that report I have visited localities then un¬ 
known, and have accumulated considerable additional infor¬ 
mation concerning these deposits, all of which is brought 
together in the present paper. My report upon the clays of 
the State has never been published; only a few of the more 
conveniently available deposits are mentioned in the present 
paper. 

The Chalk-Deposits. 

Stratigraphic Position of the Chalk .—The chalk-deposits of 
Arkansas belong to rocks of Cretaceous age. The Cretaceous 
rocks are confined to a single definite area in Southwest Arkan¬ 
sas. Beginning on the Ouachita river, a little northeast of 
Arkadelphia, its northern or upper margin follows a line about 
five miles southeast of, and approximately parallel to, the St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway from Arkadelphia 
to the river-bottoms near the mouth of Bois d’Arc creek on Red 
river, about ten miles southeast of Fniton, and thence westward 
to a point between Texarkana and Red river.* The lower and 
northern border runs westward from the same point on the 
Ouachita river past Hollywood, Clear Spring, Brocktown, Mur¬ 
freesboro and Atwood to Ultima Thule. 

The chalks are not found throughout these Cretaceous rocks, 
but are, so far as is now known, confined to the Upper Creta- 


* This approximate location of the upper limit of the Cretaceous is made upon 
the authority of Professor Gilbert D. Harris, of Cornell University. See his re¬ 
port upon the “Tertiary of Arkansas,” pp. 18-20, and map. 

1 



't > > 


> ) > 




2 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


ceous. Professor Robert T. Hill, who has made a special study 
of the Arkansas Cretaceous, divides it into Upper, Middle and 
Lower Cretaceous, and places all the chalk-beds in the upper 
division.* 

The divisions made by Prof. Hill are based upon palseonto- 
logic evidence, which, for present purposes, is of local impor¬ 
tance only; for, according to his correlations, the several chalk- 
deposits do not belong to the same subdivisions of the Upper 
Cretaceous. If Prof. Hill’s subdivisions hold over a consider¬ 
able area, the chalk-deposits are simply local variations of dif¬ 
ferent beds. 

In the main, however, the points at which chalk occurs lie 
in a belt which is on the general line of strike of the Creta¬ 
ceous rocks of the State, as will be seen by referring to the 
accompanying map, Fig. 1. 

The entire series of Cretaceous rocks was deposited in a sea, 
the northern border of which was originally somewhere north 
of the present northern border of the Cretaceous, probably at 
or near the base of the Ouachita mountains. They were laid 
down upon the upturned edges of the rocks of the Lower Coal- 
Measures. At the close of the Cretaceous the country to the 
north was elevated, the sea withdrew southward, and erosion 
began to remove the soft Cretaceous sediments. This erosion 
carried away all the northern margin of these beds, uncovering 
the palaeozoic rocks on which they were laid down, and carving 
the land-surface pretty much as we now find it. 

The Cretaceous rocks were in places so deeply decomposed 
that the soil thus formed conceals the nature of the underlying 
beds. In other places beds of sediments were deposited on top 
of the Cretaceous ones. Some of these beds were thin, and 
when they were afterwards cut through by erosion the under¬ 
lying rocks were again exposed; but in most instances they were 
so thick as to completely hide the rocks beneath. All these 
Mesozoic beds have a gentle southeast dip away from their old 
shore-line, so that those beds which crop out along the water¬ 
shed north of Washington, at Columbus and Saratoga, are at 
a great depth below the surface at Hope and Fulton. The 
streams have in many places cut their way down through some 

* Ann. Rep. Geol. Surv. of Ark. for 188^, vol. ii.; “The Neozoic Geology of 
Southwestern Arkansas,” by Robert T. Hill, Little Rock, 1888, p. 188. 





THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS 


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4 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


of the Cretaceous rocks, and in their meanderings have pro¬ 
duced wide valleys. The remnants of these beds may be seen 
occasionally in the tops of some of the hills. 

The chalk-bed at White Cliffs has been cut through entirely, 
so that it now stands 130 feet or more above water on Little 
river. On the Saline river, however, six miles due east, the 
same chalk-beds are at the level of that stream. 

It should be distinctly understood that chalk occurs in Ar¬ 
kansas only within the Cretaceous area above specified. One 
may occasionally hear of u chalk-rocks ” or “ cotton-rocks ” in 
other parts of the State, but in no case are they true chalks. 
In the region north of the Boston mountains some of the mag¬ 
nesian limestones, sometimes called “ cotton-rocks,” have been 
taken for chalks. In the same region a siliceous limestone 
often forms, upon partial decomposition, a spongy, soft, white 
rock that is occasionally taken for chalk. It is, however, almost 
pure silica instead of almost pure limestone. Again, within 
the Cretaceous area southeast of Murfreesboro, in Pike county, 
there are considerable beds of white, soft kaolin that has been 
used in the schools as lump-chalk upon blackboards. In that 
neighborhood this kaolin is commonly known as chalk. At 
the northern end of Crowley’s ridge, in the northeast corner of 
Greene county, is a place known as Chalk Bluffs, on account 
of a white clay exposed at the base of the ridge at this place. 
Instead of chalk, the material is white pottery-clay, as is shown 
by the analyses given of it in Owen’s first report (p. 21). It 
contains less than 1 per cent, of lime. 

Appearance .—The chalk of Southwest Arkansas has been 
known hitherto as “ rotten limestone.” This popular name 
conveys a general idea of its appearance. Wherever it is un¬ 
covered it is soft and earthy in texture, is easily cut with a 
knife or scratched with the nail, and breaks up in conchoidal 
fragments when freshly exposed. It is cream-colored to white 
when dry, or has a grayish cast when damp, and especially 
when uncovered below the surface of the ground. A micro¬ 
scopic examination of the chalk shows it to be composed prin¬ 
cipally of the calcareous skeletons of foramenifera. Like most 
limestones, the chalk forms a rich soil upon decay, and the ad¬ 
mixture of organic matter makes this soil very black and 
sticky. The famous “black lands” and “black waxy lands” 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


5 


of Southwest Arkansas are, indeed, due to the decay of the 
lime-bearing beds of the Cretaceous area. In some places these 
soils are in place, resting upon the rocks from which they are 
made; in other places they have been carried down by water 
to lower levels and spread out over the “ bottoms.” 

Composition .—According to the hooks, chalk is “ a soft white 
rock, consisting almost entirely of carbonate of lime in a pul¬ 
verulent or slightly consolidated state, and readily soiling the 
fingers when handled.” The lime-rocks of the Cretaceous are 
not all chalks. Many of them are too hard to be classed as 
such, and, though their composition would not exclude them 
from available material, their hardness is against them. The 
softer the rock the more easily crushed, and hence the cheaper. 

All the analyses made of the chalks and of the associated 
rocks are brought together in Table I., accompanying this 
paper. 

Attention^should he directed to the fact that these analyses 
are not all of what are considered good chalks. They were 
made with a view to determining the nature and availability of 
the various beds, and they are all given as of some possible 
value in the efforts of practical cement-makers to settle upon 
the best rock and to avoid undesirable ones. It will be seen 
that many of the samples show chalks high in lime and low 
in deleterious ingredients. The highest percentage of magnesia 
found was 3.02 per cent.; the average is below 2 per cent. 

Notes on Leading Deposits. 

The following details will be useful to those who may have 
occasion to locate or use the Arkansas chalks. I shall begin 
with the westernmost exposures and follow them eastward as 
far as they are now known to me. 

Rocky Comfort .—The chalk-beds about Rocky Comfort, Little 
River county, are among the best in the State. At that place 
they extend over the State-line into the Indian Territory, and 
eastward they are exposed here and there over the rolling tim¬ 
bered country to and including Section 6 in 13 south, 31 west, 
a distance of 10 miles. The chalk is not everywhere exposed 
along this belt, however, for most of the country is covered by 
gravels, sands and clays, from 3 to b feet thick, that conceal 
the Cretaceous beds. The nature of the concealed clialk-surface 


6 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


is sometimes shown by the character of the well-waters through 
the region. Some of the waters are hard, as would be expected 
in a limestone country, but others are quite soft. The reason 
for this difference is shown by the section given in Fig. 2, which 
is sufficient explanation of the occurrence of two kinds of 
water near each other in wells of the same depth. 

The hills about Rocky Comfort are capped by gravelly and 
sandy clayey soil, beneath which, and separating it from the 
chalk, is generally a bed of coarse pebbles. Three-quarters of 
a mile north of Rocky Comfort begins a “ poshoak flat,” the 
surface of which is a gray sandy clay, streaked with yellow, 
and containing a few small pebbles. This sandy clay overlaps 
the lower or northern edge of the entire chalk-area about 


Fig. 2. 



Diagram showing Wells of the Same Depth which Yield Different Kinds of Water. 


Rocky Comfort, The chalk beneath these clays is dove-colored, 
but becomes cream-colored upon weathering. It is usually 
jointed, and the weathering begins along the joints. A well dug 
at the old brick-yard in 12 south, 32 west, Section 8, southwest 
quarter, passes through the clays and enters the chalk. Chalk 
was struck also north of Flat creek in Section 6 of the same 
township and range. Holman’s well, in 12 south, 32 west, 
Section 18, southeast quarter, is 308 feet deep; 10 feet of slialy 
limestone overlies a blue chalk, which crumbles after long ex¬ 
posure. At 160 feet there are three 6-inch layers of reddish 
sand. Mr. J. H. Means, who examined the country about Mr. 
Holman’s, thinks the shaly limestone at the top is decomposed 
chalk. In any case the chalk is more than 300 feet thick at 
this place, for the bottom was not reached. 









































THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


1 


A well in 13 south, 31 west, near the center of Section 6, 
struck the chalk after passing through 6 feet of clay. At Mr. 
Malden’s, on the same section, the chalk was covered by 5 to 6 
feet of earth. At a depth of 33 feet the chalk was of a 
bluish-gray color, and fell to pieces after exposure to the 
weather. 

In 12 south, 33 west, Section 12, northwest quarter of the 
southwest quarter, a well dug on the low land struck the 
chalk at a depth of 8 feet. 

In the southeast quarter of Section 11 of the same township 
and range the chalk is exposed in a bluff. In 13 south, 32 
west, Section 1, northeast quarter, the chalk is covered by 8 
feet of soil and clay. At the center of Section 3, 13 south, 32 
west, a well 33 feet deep did not strike the chalk. Wells dug 
near the eastern boundary of the chalk-belt, show that the chalk 
is covered by 8 to 10 feet of soil and clay, and that the rock is 
compact and bluish wherever it is penetrated. 

At the residence of Col. A. D. Hawkins, east of Kocky Com¬ 
fort (12 south, 32 west, Section 27), a well 57 feet deep is in 
chalk for almost the entire distance. A sample of this chalk 
was examined chemically with the results shown in Table I., 
Analysis Ho. 4. 

The two samples, Hos. 2 and 3, Table I., were taken from a 
gully in the southern part of the town of Rocky Comfort ; 
they were about 2 feet apart when in place, and the only differ¬ 
ence apparent in them was that of color, Ho. 2 being cream- 
colored and Ho. 3 bluish-gray. The analysis suggests that this 
difference was partly due to water. 

From a personal examination of the chalk-beds about Rocky 
Comfort, I came to the conclusion that there were about 800 
acres of the best white-chalk land in that region that could be 
quarried with little or no stripping of the overlying clays. 

White Cliffs .—At White Cliffs landing, on the left bank of 
Little river, is a notable exposure of chalk (see sketch, Fig. 3). 
This exposure is in Little River county, 11 south, 29 west, 
Sections 25 and 36. At this place Little river cuts close to 
its left bank and leaves exposed a bluff of limestone and chalk 
about 130 feet high. The chalk proper forms the uppermost 
bed in the section, and is here about 30 feet thick, with a 
maximum of 40 feet. 


8 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS 



Chalk Bluffs at White Cliffs Landing. 














































THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


9 


In 11 south, 29 west, Section 35, northeast quarter of the 
northeast quarter, is the section shown in Fig. 4. 

The lower 100 feet contains a good many fossil oysters, and 
is not so pure as the 30 feet overlying it. In places the bed 
immediately beneath the chalk is sandy; this is shown at the 
base of the cliff at Kinsworthy’s old lime-pit, a short distance 
north of the cliffs. Dr. FT. F. Drake, who lately visited White 
Cliffs, records the following section of the beds beginning at 
the top of the cliff: 

(1) 20 feet massive white chalk. This bed is probably 30 
feet to 40 feet thick, but only 15 feet to 20 feet is exposed. 
This is the bed to be used for cement, etc. 

(2) 10 feet of almost white pure chalk, with three bands of 
more arenaceous rock. 

Fig. 4. 



(3) 25 feet of rock, harder, whiter and less arenaceous than 

Ho. 4. 

(4) 10 feet of rock, harder, whiter and less arenaceous than 
Ho. 5. 

(5) 20 feet of light-gray arenaceous massive limestone or 
chalk. Ostrea vesicular is(?) common, especially abundant at 
the top. 

(6) 30 feet to the river. 

The rocks at White Cliffs landing dip southeast at a low angle, 
so that the bluffs •adjoining the bottom-lands to the south cut 
off the chalk-exposure in that direction, while the general dip 
brings them to an end within a short distance northward. That 
they do not extend northward very far is also shown by the 















10 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


well put down at Col. Coulter’s house, about a mile and a halt 
north and a little east of the White Clifts landing. This well- 
section is as follows: 


Section of Well Bored at JD. B. Coulter’s, One and One-Half 

Miles North of White Cliffs. 

Feet. 

Waterworn gravel, ......... 3 

Clay,.30 

Blue lime marl, ......... 200-}- 

White sand, water-bearing, 


Analyses Nos. 13 to 18, inclusive, Table I., show the compo¬ 
sition of the White Cliffs beds. Sample No. 14 was taken by 
Prof. R. T. Hill; the others were collected by myself with a 
view to getting average specimens, hut the material was not 
systematically sampled. 

The White Cliffs locality is six miles in a direct line from 
the main line of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railway, 
hut a branch line has lately been built from Wilton to White 
Cliffs. This gives these deposits a considerable advantage they 
have never before had. Transportation by water is possible 
during much of the year, but the fact that it could not he de¬ 
pended upon the year round has always stood in the way of the 
working of the chalks at this place. With the railway in opera¬ 
tion the whole year, and the river available a part of the year, 
the conditions are favorable for extensive development, if rail¬ 
way rates are not prohibitory. 

The river-transportation will connect with other raihvays and 
markets at Fulton, Ark., at Shreveport, La., and at New 
Orleans. 

Saline Landing. —Saline landing is six miles due east of White 
Cliffs. At the latter place the chalk is on the top of a bluff 
100 feet above water, while at the former it is at the water’s 
edge, and the country in the immediate vicinity is low and flat 
or rolling. I have no doubt, however, that the chalk at White 
Clifts and that at Saline landing are the same bed. The south¬ 
east dip of the rocks at White Clifts and Erosion will readily 
account for the difference in elevation at the two points. 

Fig. 5, a north-south section through Saratoga (11 south, 27 
west, Section 33), shows the general geology of that region. 



THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


11 


Saratoga is on a hill about 400 feet above the bottom and over¬ 
looking the surrounding country. 

Saline landing is four miles west of Saratoga on West Saline 
river, and the clialk-beds shown in the section are exposed at 
the latter place and thence strike a little north of east, skirting 
the bottom-lands of Plum creek. East of this they are either 
concealed by soil or these particular beds thin out and do not 
appear again in the form of chalk. 

At Saline landing the bottoms extend west of the river un¬ 
interrupted, so far as is known, to Little river. On the east 
bank of the stream there is a bank of chalk about 20 feet high 
exposed for a distance of 300 feet. These beds dip south at an 
angle of from three to four degrees. 

This same chalk is exposed in the deep gullies just east of 
the stream. 

Fig. 5. 



Section through Saratoga. 


Several years ago three wells were drilled just east of the 
stream on the farm of which the landing is a part. 

The first of these wells passes through the following : 


Record of Well Bored at Saline Landing. 

Soil and clay, ........ 25 feet. 

Brown sand, . . . . . • • . • • 1 foot. 

White chalk, . • • . • • • .140 feet. 

Blue marl,. 290 “ 

Sandy bed with pyrites,.10 inches. 

Sand in bottom of well. - 

Depth = 457 feet. 

The following is the record of another well three-quarters of 
a mile northeast of the landing : 


Record of Well Bored Three-quarters of a Mile Northeast of 

Saline landing. 


Soil, ... 
White chalk, . 

Blue marl, 

Sandy bed with pyrites, 
Sand in bottom. 


1 foot. 
110 feet. 
277 “ 

10 inches. 


Depth = 388 feet. 









12 THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 

A thickness of 20 to 30 feet of the chalk is also exposed at 
this last place. 

The first of these well-sections seems to show that the chalk 
bed is at least 140 feet thick. The second record gives a 
smaller thickness of the same bed because it is more eroded at 
that point which is away from the dip. 

Analyses Nos. 10, 11 and 12 show the composition of the 
Saline landing chalk-beds. 

Sample No. 12 was taken from a bed 1J feet thick, exposed 
on the creek hank at the landing, that slacks or breaks up 
more rapidly than the rest of the deposit. 

The chalk strikes east and a little north from Saline landing. 
For the most part it is concealed by the black soil formed by 
its decay. 

It is exposed about 1J miles northwest of Saratoga, where it 
forms gently rolling lands. The thickness here is from 30 to 
50 feet, and it grades into the overlying marl-beds, which are 
210 feet thick. The bottom of the chalk is not exposed at 
this place. From this point the chalk is exposed eastward to 
a point about two and one-half miles northwest of Columbus. 
The bed appears to he of even quality, but it seems to thin 
out towards the east. Two miles north of Columbus a gully 
exposes about 5 feet of the chalk. East of this point the chalk- 
bed of White Clifis and Saline landing does not seem to he 
exposed. 

Outcrop of the Saratoga Chalk .—The chalk-limestone beds east 
of Saratoga, west of Columbus, north of Washington and thence 
eastward to near Arkadelphia are above the upper White Clifts 
chalk-bed. But inasmuch as the appearance and composition 
of these rocks seem to he such as to make them available at 
some places for the manufacture of Portland cement, their com¬ 
position and their general distribution east of Saratoga are 
here given. The stratigraphic relations of these upper chalks 
to the lower ones will be seen by referring to the section given 
in Fig. 5 of the rocks at Saratoga. The White Clifts beds are 
shown at the bottom of that section. These are followed above 
by a series of beds marked in the section as Saratoga chalk, 
calcareous sandstone, greensand marl and sandstone. The 
chalk is exposed just west of Saratoga. One mile west of 
Columbus these beds are 25 to 30 feet thick. 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


13 


The section in Fig. 5 is not a detailed one. Dr. N. F. Drake 
gives me the following as the general sequence of the beds 
above the White Cliffs chalk from Saratoga eastward, as shown 
by his examination of the geology of the region in question: 

(1) Top of the hill at Saratoga; sands. 

(2) 100 to 200 feet of sandy black marl. 

(3) 20 to 40 feet of rotten limestone. 

(4) 10 to 50 feet bluish yellow marls. 

(5) 15 to 20 feet rotten limestone with Ostrea vesicular is. 

(6) 200 feet of yellowish marls with Exogyra 'ponderosa at the 
top. 

(7) White Clifts and Saline landing chalk. 

In 11 south, 27 west, Section 35, northeast quarter of the 
northeast quarter, on the farm of Thos. L. Jones, the rocks of 
the fossiliferous chalk are exposed. Samples sent from that 
tract by Mr. Jones were analyzed with the results given in 
Table I., Nos. 22 and 23. Mr. Jones says some of the rock is 
of a bluish color, hut it bleaches on exposure and finally drops 
to pieces. The samples analyzed are from near the surface. 


A nalyses of Fossiliferous Chalks from the Farm of Thos. L. Jones. 


Loss on ignition, CO 2 , etc., . 
Silica, SiCL, . 

Iron oxide, Fe203, 

Alumina, AI2O3, . 

Lime, CaO, . 

Magnesia, MgO, . 
Sulphuric acid, SO3, 

Potash, K 2 O, 

Soda, Na20 . 


I. 

II. 

Per cent. 

Per cent. 

34.050 

40.355 

16.617 

5.002 

1.512 

1.218 

5.343 

2.785 

41.370 

49.894 

0.988 

0.732 

0.000 

0.000 

trace 

0.000 

trace 

trace 

99.880 

99.986 


I. —Specimen from gully near surface, 11 south, 27 west, 
Section 35, northeast quarter of the northeast quarter. 

II. —Specimen from block plowed up in field, same section 
and quarter. 

Mr. Jones tells me that a similar rock is found in the north¬ 
east quarter of Section 32, in the west halt of 27, and in the 
west half of 26. 

The Upper or Saratoga Chalk near Washington. —The outcrop 
of the upper or Saratoga chalk-bed is not continuously exposed 










14 THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 

for any great distance; it is for the most part concealed by soil 
or by an overwash of soil, sands and gravels. The exposures, 
however, show that it extends from the face of the hill, just 
east of Saratoga, to Columbus, this latter town standing on or 
very near its northern margin. From this place it strikes in 
the direction of Washington, but about a mile west of that town 
it swings northward and crosses the railway on top of the water¬ 
shed between Washington and Ozan. 

The diagram, Fig. 5, giving the succession of rocks at Sara¬ 
toga, shows also the succession for Washington and the beds 
underlying that place. A section at Washington is shown in 
Fig. 6. 

It will be seen that the sections are geologically identical. 
At Washington, however, the chalk-beds are exposed in the 
railway-cuts on the water-shed north of and higher than the 


Fig. 6. 

N S 



town, while at Saratoga they are at the base of the hill that 
slopes away to the north, and are lower than the town. 

The Washington exposures examined are in the railway-cuts 
in 11 south, 25 west, about Section 9, about 2J miles north 
and a little west of Washington. Approaching the exposures 
by the railway-track from the south, the first one shows 7 feet 
of light-gray chalk at the top of the cut and 4 feet of leaden- 
gray beneath, without the bottom of the bed being seen. 

The light-gray color of the upper chalk seems to lie due 
largely to weathering; there is, at least, a close conformity of 
the parting line between the two colors and the contour of the 
exposed surfaces. The freshly-quarried stone stands with angu¬ 
lar faces like a hard rock, but it breaks down rapidly under 
the influence of the weather. Large, fresh blocks taken from 
the cut and exposed for one year disintegrated and broke down 










THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


15 


like so much clay, and the face of the cut within a year came 
to look more like a bank of clay than a hard rock-face. 

Analyses Nos. 6, 8 and 9, Table I., show the composition of 
average samples taken from the above-mentioned cut. 

In the next railway-cut (the one just south of the cut-off 
made in shortening the railway-track) the rock is less even in 
texture and has hard spots caused by fossil Cephalopods and 
Lamellibranchs. A thickness of 10 feet is exposed in this cut. 
The rock is bluish-gray towards the bottom of the exposure and 
of a lighter gray at the top. It all disintegrates upon exposure, 
but not so rapidly as does that in the first cut mentioned above. 

No. 7, Table I., is an analysis of the fossiliferous chalk in 
this railway-cut, made by Dr. A. E. Menke. 

The exposures on the railway deserve especial attention on 
account of their being immediately accessible to railway trans¬ 
portation. 

From the point where the chalk crosses the railway north of 
Washington it runs in a nearly straight line to a point about 
half-way between Marlbrook and Wallaceburg, where it is cut 
off or concealed by the overlying sandy beds. Between four 
and five miles northeast of Washington the chalky bed is about 
40 feet thick and seems to be of uniform character. It is 
capped by about 100 feet of bluish, sandy clay, above which is 
from 50 to 70 feet of a still more sandy bed. Four miles south- 
southwest of Wallaceburg it is still forty feet thick, but the bed 
as a whole varies somewhat. The central part of the bed is 
somewhat more argillaceous and has more fossils, and the upper 
four feet have less sand. East of Wallaceburg the upper chalk 
next appears at and about Okolona. This locality I have not 
examined personally, but Dr. N. F. Drake, who has visited it 
for me, says that the chalk similar to that at Saratoga and north 
of Washington is exposed in the old fields half a mile south 
and southwest of Okolona, where it has been eroded so that 
the total thickness is not to be seen at that place. From two 
to three miles south of Okolona the full thickness of the bed— 
20 to 30 feet—may be seen. Here it caps the higher hills. 
From 3 to 3J miles south of Okolona the bed dips to the south 
and disappears beneath gray marls. In this vicinity the mate¬ 
rial seems to vary in character a little more than usual at dif¬ 
ferent horizons, some beds weathering more rapidly than 


16 THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 

others. The analyses of samples taken from the beds that 
break down more rapidly than others upon exposure leave one 
in doubt about the reason for this peculiarity. In the case of 
the Saline landing specimens, it was expected that the cause of 
this disintegration would he readily detected, especially in view 
of the sharp contrast between the rocks analyzed. In any case 
this disintegration of the chalk, until otherwise demonstrated, 
must he looked upon as a valuable peculiarity, as it will render 
the crushing of the rock less expensive. 

A mile west of Dobeyville this chalk outcrops along the 
Okolona-Dobeyville road just below a sandy bed. It is about 
25 feet thick here, and somewhat harder than usual. The 
lower 20 feet is quite uniform in character. At Dobeyville 
there is about 100 feet of marl above the chalky bed, the out¬ 
crop passing just north of that town. East of Dobeyville it is 
cut off by the bottoms of the Terre Noire. East of these hob 
toms it follows a broken course past Mt. Bethel church, east of 
which it has not been located. About five miles west of Arka- 
delphia, and just below the Rome-Arkadelphia road, where it 
crosses Big Deciper creek, there is an exposure of 15 to 20 feet 
of the Saratoga chalk. Here it is quite sandy, and probably 
not more than one-fourth of the rock is limestone, even in the 
most calcareous portion of the bed. 

Where the road crosses the Little Deciper the top of this bed 
is at or near the level of the road, and the outcrop lies north of 
Mr. Haskins’s place. 

Little, Deciper Deposits .—On the south side of Section 23, 7 
south, 20 west, where the Arkadelphia-Washington road crosses 
Little Deciper creek, 4 miles west and a little south of Arka¬ 
delphia, the chalky cretaceous beds are exposed on both the 
east and west sides of the creek. On the west bank these soft 
beds are about 25 feet thick, with a few fossil bivalves exposed 
by weathering on the surface. Above the chalky bed is a bed 
of brown sandy rock about 6 feet thick, and this is overlain 
by bright red overwash containing water-worn cobbles. These 
beds dip gently down the stream. 

Table of Analyses of Chalks. 

I give below all the quantitative analyses that I have had 
made of the Arkansas chalks, and also those made by Prof. N. 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


IT 


W. Lord, of the Ohio State University, by Dr. Joseph Albrecht, 
ot the United States Mint, ISTew Orleans, and by Dr. Henry 
Froehling, of Richmond, Va., for the White Cliffs Portland Ce¬ 
ment and Chalk Company, and contained in the company’s pros¬ 
pectus, published at ISTew Orleans in 1894. I do not know from 
what part of the beds the samples were taken. So far as I know, 
these are the only analyses that have thus far been made of 
them. 

Table I. — Analyses of Arkansas Chalks , 

Giving Silica, Ferric Oxide, Alumina, Magnesia, Lime, Alkalies, Carbon Dioxide, 
and Water ; also the ( calculated) Carbonates of Lime and Magnesia . 


No. 

Si0 2 . 

Fe 2 0 3 . 

AI 0 O 3 . 

MgO. 

CaO. 

Alka¬ 

lies. 

C0 2 . 

Water 
at 110°- 
115° C. 

CaC0 3 . 

MgC0 3 . 

1 . 

9.77 

1.25 

* 

Trace. 

49.55 


38.93 


88.48 


2 . 

12.69 



U 

46.87 


36.83 

1.22 

83.70 


3. 

12.69 



“ 

45.38 


35.66 

2.04 

81.04 


4. 

10.46 



u 

45.70 


38.28 

1.57 

86.98 


5. 

8.91 



u 

49 .sa 


39.15 

1.26 

88.97 


6 . 

24.49 

. 

1.68 

6.27 

0.92 

34.63 

0.86 

29.95 


61.84 

1 93 

7. 

16.12 

1.62 

5.64 

0.42 

42.17 

0.41 

34.52f 


75.30 

0.88 

8 . 

32.80 

1.45 

6.32 

1.91 

25.95 

1.66 

26.97f 


46.35 

4.01 

l 9. 

32.39 

1.99 

6.63 

1.45 

25.61 

1.50 

26.10| 


45.73 

3.02 

10 . 

15.89 

1.40 

5.46 

0.60 

42.49 

0.35 

34.61-f 


75.87 

1.26 

11 . 

5.69 

1.48 

4.22 

1.20 

48.72 

0.26 

38.64} 


87.01 

0.85 

12 . 

12.01 

1.06 

5.29 

1.21 

44.25 

0.32 

35.99f 


79.01 

2.50 

13. 

10.35 

1.97 

3.02 


46.61 


36.63' 


83.24 


14. 

3.49 

1.41 

* 

0.65 

52.74 


42.16 


94.18 

1.37 

15. 

4.42 

1.03 

2.21 

. 

53.36 


41.93 

3.81 

95.29 


16. 

5.53 

1.34 

1.44 


51.71 


40.63 


92.34 


17. 

7.76 

1.26 

2.58 


49.45 


38.85 

1.15 

88.30 


18. 

3.34 

0.89 

1.80 


52.78 


41.47 


94.24 


19. 

5.04 

0.58 

3.26 


49.92 


39.23 


89.15 


20 

6.09 

1.20 

3.52 


49.24 


38.69 


37.93 


21 . 

5.74 

0.48 

1.02 


30.91 


40.00 


90.91 


22 . 

16.62 

1.51 

5.34 

0.99 

41.37 


34.05f 


73.87 


23 

5.00 

1.22 

2.79 

0.73 

49.89 


40.35 f 


89.09 













1. Rocky Comfort. 2 and 3. Gully in south part of Rocky Comfort; 2. cream- 
colored ; 3. bluish-gray. 4. Hawkins’s well, east of Rocky Comfort. 5. Rocky 
Comfort, weathered. 6. Upper (7 feet) bed in first railroad-cut, 2£ miles north of 
Washington. 7. Analysis by Menke of fossiliferous chalk from second railroad- 
cut north of Washington. 8 and 9. Lower (4 feet) bed from same cut; No. 8 from 
north end. 10, 11 and 12. Saline Landing ; No. 12 a bed exposed on creek which 
slacks more readily than the others. 13. White Cliffs, base of Kingsworthy’s 
ledge. 14. White Cliffs, sample taken by Prof. R. T. Hill on Col. Coulter’s 
farm, 11 S., 29 W., Sec. 26 (?), exact locality not known. 15. Do., from roadside, 
N.E. qr. of N.E. qr., Sec. 35, 11 S., 29 W. 16. White Cliffs, light-colored rock 
below the upper chalk-beds. 17. Do., soft bluish chalk from beneath the chalk- 


* Alumina included with iron oxide, 
f Loss by ignition, comprising carbonic acid and water. 

2 


































































































































18 THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 

beds. 18. I)o., hard bed immediately beneath the chalk-beds. 19, 20 and 21. 
White Cliffs, precise locality not stated ; No. 19 by N. W. Lord; 20 by Joseph 
Albrecht; 21 by H. Froehling. 22 and 23. Farm of T. L. Jones, 11 S., 27 W. 
Sec. 35; No. 22 from a gully, near the surface; No. 23 from a block plowed up 
in the field. 

Available Clays. 

Clays, to be available for the manufacture of Portland ce¬ 
ment, must, besides having the right composition, be suffi¬ 
ciently abundant, uniform in character and convenient to trans¬ 
portation to make them cheap and trustworthy. In no case 
with which I am acquainted are the surface-clays found in the 
immediate vicinity of the chalk-deposits to be depended upon. 
Such clays are, as a rule, too sandy and too thin, and, above 
all, they are not of uniform composition. Reference is here 
made especially to the leached sandy clays or “ slashes ” over¬ 
lapping the chalk-beds to the north and east of Rocky Com¬ 
fort, and the clays of the bottom-lands south and west of 
White Cliffs, and those south, north and west of the chalk- 
exposures at Saline landing. Fortunately, the Tertiary rocks 
which overlap the Cretaceous ones to the south and east con¬ 
tain an abundance of excellent clays available for the manu¬ 
facture of cement. Some of these clay-beds are already being 
utilized for the manufacture of pottery at Benton and Malvern 
(Perla switch). At these two points the beds are on the rail¬ 
way. There are many other deposits on and near the railway 
that are as yet unused, and, indeed, generally unknown. Such 
occur about Arkadelphia, Malvern, between Malvern and Ben¬ 
ton, between Benton and Bryant, at Olsen’s switch and at 
Mabelvale. At Little Rock also there are extensive beds of 
both clays and clay-shales, while scores of beds of clay-shales 
may be found along the line of the Little Rock and Fort 
Smith road to Fort Smith and beyond. 

The Tertiary clays at Benton, Bryant, Olsen’s switch, Ma¬ 
belvale and Little Rock are all horizontal or nearly horizontal 
beds dipping gently toward the southeast. They can be had 
in many places by stripping off a few feet of post-Tertiary 
gravel and soil; but in places the covering is too thick to be 
removed, and the clays can be had only by a system of drifts. 
In some instances the clay-beds are so nearly uniform in char¬ 
acter as to give rise to the idea that they have the same com¬ 
position throughout. This, however, is true only in a limited 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


91 


sense: the clays do not seem to vary within the small areas 
thus far worked, hut it is highly probable that they will he 
found to change to sands when a wide area is taken into con¬ 
sideration. 

This is not a serious objection to the deposits, however, as 
there is no possibility of the supply being exhausted. 

Cost of Clays. —The lands through the region of Tertiary 
clays can probably be had for $10 an acre, and for even less 
than that, as they are generally of small value for agricultural 
purposes. In some places short switches can he built into the 
clay-banks, and the clays can be shoveled directly from open 
cuts into cars. In case it should he necessary to haul to the 
railway, teams can be had for $2 a day, driver included, and 
labor at from 75 cents to $1 a day, and outside of the farming 
season for even less. The employees board themselves.and 
their teams. Hauling must be done in Arkansas mostly in the 
summer and fall, as the winter and spring rains usually make 
the common country-roads impassable. 

Location of Clays. —The following information regarding the 
local conditions of occurrence may he useful to those seeking 
information about the Arkansas clays. Only a few of the 
many known localities are here mentioned. On account of the 
geographical relations to the chalk-beds, only those places con 
venient to railway transportation along the St. Louis, Iron 
Mountain and Southern Railway southwest of Little Rock are 
spoken of in this paper. Should a factory, on account of fuel 
or for other reasons, be located west of Little Rock, clays de¬ 
rived from the Carboniferous clay-shales would have to he 
used. Of these there is no lack between Little Rock and 
Fort Smith. 

Clays at Little Rock. —There are two general classes of clays 
at Little Rock available for cement-manufacture: (1) the Ter¬ 
tiary clays that occur in horizontal beds in the southern and 
southwestern part of the city; and (2) the Carboniferous clay- 
shales exposed in the railway-cuts along the south hank of the 
Arkansas river, in the cuts west of the town, and in others 
west of Argenta. 

There are other clays about Little Rock and Argenta, such 
as the chocolate-colored clays along the margins of the river- 
bottoms, and the pinkish clays forming the high river-terraces 



20 THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 

and used for bricks on the north side of the river; hut these 
latter two kinds of clays are not available for cement-manu¬ 
facture, partly because they are too sandy, but also because 
they are not homogeneous. An analysis of the pink clay of 
Argenta shows it to contain more than 83 per cent, of silica. 

The Tertiary clays were laid down, like the other Tertiary 
beds of Arkansas, as sediments in water. These strata were 
originally, and are still, very nearly horizontal. After the old 
sea-bottom was elevated, however, the ordinarv erosion cut down 
and washed away these soft sediments rapidly, so that now 
there remains on the hills but a small part of the original 
beds, and these have been still further obscured by gravels, 
clays and soils that cover most of the region. The original 
bedding of these clays is to be seen only in a few deep gullies 
along the west-sloping hills in the western part of the city, 
and in the wells that penetrate them. They are of an olive- 
green to gray color, and upon exposure break up in small 
cuboidal fragments, or, when thoroughly wet, pack together 
closely. They are cut in several gullies in the southwestern 
part of the city, and are penetrated by many of the wells. 

The Carboniferous clay-shales are too well exposed in the 
railway-cut near the upper bridge, and where the electric 
power-house stands, to require description. Similar shales 
may be found here, and there over a large part of Pulaski 
county, within the Carboniferous area. 

The objection to these shales is that they require grinding 
before they can be used in cement-making, and the grinding, 
of course, makes them more expensive. 

Composition of the Clays .—The following analyses show the 
composition of the common run of the pottery clays and 
fullers’ earths of Arkansas. These analyses are of representa¬ 
tive samples, and a reasonable assurance may be given that the 
clays as found in place are as nearly homogeneous as clays ever 
are. Most of them contain some sand, usually quite fine. In 
those cases in which the percentage of sand is given the 
analyses are of the washed clay. This table might be greatly 
extended, as I have analyses of a large number of the clays of 
Arkansas. These, however, will give a correct idea of the 
general nature of the clays. 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


21 


Table II. — Analyses of Typical Carboniferous Clay-Shales from 

Arkansas , 

Giving Silica, Alumina, Ferric Oxide, Lime, Magnesia, Soda , Potash, and Water. 


No. 

Si0 2 . 

j 

ai 2 0 3 . 

Fe 2 0 3 . 

CaO. 

MgO. 

Na 2 0. 

KoO. 

Water. 

Total. 

Hand in 
Air- 
Dried 
Clay. 

i. 

53.30 

23.29 

9.52 

0.36 

1.49 

2.76 

1.36 

5.16 

100.48 


2. 

62.36 

25.52 

2.16 

0.51 

0.29 

0.66 

1.90 

5.32 

98.72 


3. 

58.43 

22.50 

8.36 

0.32 

1.14 

1.03 

2.18 

6.87 



4. 

65.12 

19.05 

7.66 

0.34 

0.31 

0.85 

1.23 

6.12 


21.88 

5. 

57.12 

24.32 

8.21 

0.72 

1.74 

0.53 

2.07 

7.58 



6. 

55.36 

26.96 

5.12 

0.30 

1.16 

1.03 

2.69 

7.90 

100.52 


7. 

51.30 

24.69 

10.57 

0.32 

0.63 

0.72 

2.18 

9.11 



8. 

69.34 

22.56 

1.41 

Trace. 

Trace. 

2.31 

0.04 

5.12 




1. Clay-shale from railroacl-cut at south end of upper bridge, Little Lock. 2. 
Decayed shale from Iron Mountain Railroad-cut, at crossing of Mt. Ida road, 
Little Rock. 3. Clay-shale from Nigger Hill, Fort Smith. 4. From Harding & 
Boucher’s quarry, Fort Smith. 5. Clay-shale from Round Mountain, White 
county, Sec. 6, 5 N., 10 W. 6. From Clarksville, east of college. 7. FromS.E. 
qr. of S.W. qr., Sec. 31, 10 N., 23 W. 8. From N.W. qr., Sec. 23, 1 N., 13 W. 

Table III. — Analyses of Typical Tertiary Clays from Arkansas. 


No. 

Si0 2 . 

ai 2 o 3 . 

Fe^Oa. 

CaO. 

MgO. 

Na«0. 

K 2 0. 

Wate r - 

Titanic Acid. 

1 

63.07 

23.92 

1.94 

0.23 

Trace. 

108 

1.15 

7.07 


9 

72.44 

18.97 

1.59 

0.18 

Trace. 

0.91 

1.35 

5.39 


3 

69.95 

22.34 

1.44 

Trace. 

0.08 

1.18 

1.28 

5.98 


4 

71.09 

19.86 

1.81 

0.11 


0 81 

1.45 

5.67 


5 

65.27 

18.75 

7.34 

0.81 

1,26 

0.81 

1.10 

6.88 


6 

64.38 

17.29 

8.25 

1.11 

0.80 

0.42 

1.41 

6.95 


7 

63.19 

18.76 

7.05 

0.78 

1.68 

1.50 

0.21 

7.57 


8 

64 49 

23.86 

2.11 

0.31 

Trace, 

1.82 

0.11 

8.11 


q 

67 90 

22.07 

1.33 

0.05 

0.59 

0.38 

1.15 

6.86 


10. 

48.34 

34.58 

1.65 

0.81 

Trace. 

1.26 

0.44 

12.94 

1.56. 

11. 

62.34 

20.63 

3.34 

0.17 

0.67 

0.33 

0.73 

9.34 

1.49. 

1 2 

68 03 

17.19 

3.00 

0.81 

1.00 

0.54 

1.00 

6.31 


13. 

63.29 

18.19 

6.45 

0.31 

2.44 

Trace. 

0.56 

_ j 



14 

76 33 

16.04 

1.24 

By dif. 0.99. 

5.40 



75 99 

16 12 

1.35 

By dif. 1.45. 



lO . 

1 A 

73 24 

19 61 

1.04 

Rv dif. 0.78. 



10. 

1 7 

45.28 

37.39 

1.71 

1.83 

0.29. 

13.49 


1 /. 







1. Benton, Hicks’s bed, 2 S., 15 W., Sec. 12. 2. Benton, Rodenbaugh, 2 S., 15 
W. Sec. 12. 3. Benton, Herrick & Davis’s bank. 4. Benton, Henderson’s pit, 
upper bed. 5. Mabelvale, A. W. Norris’s well. 6. Olsen’s switch, “fullers’ 
clay.” 7. “Fullers’ earth,” Alexander, 1 S., 13 W , Sec. 8, S.W. of S.E. 8. Ben¬ 
ton, Woolsey’s clay. 9. Ridgwood, IN., 12 W., Sec. 25, S.W, qr. of N.E. qr. 
10. Benton, Howe’s pottery. 11. Clay from 8 S., 15 W., Sec. 4. 12. Clay from 
8 S., 15 W., Sec. 5. 13. Clay from 2 S., 13 W., Sec. 13, S. half. 14. John Foley’s, 
























































































































22 


THE CEMENT-MATERIALS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 


13 S , 24 W., Sec. 18, N.E. of S.E. 15. Climax pottery, 15 S., 28 W., Sec. 5, W. 
half, S.E. qr. 16. Atchison’s, 4 S., 17 W., Sec. 24, N.E. qr. of N.E. qr. 17. Kao¬ 
lin, 1 N., 12 W., Sec. 36, Tarpley’s. 


According to Professor Jameson*, clays for Portland cement 
should not contain less than about 60 per cent, of silica in 
combination. 


* Portland Cement , by Charles D. Jameson, Iowa City, 1895, p. 17. 

















# 















r* 



























M 





